Bulgaria

Margaret Marketa Novak-Dattels writes movingly (letter, Oct. 23) of the murder of Jews in World War II by Nazi Germany and collaborators. True, Edith Stein was murdered because of her Jewish roots, not her Catholic conversion. But Novak-Dattels is wrong in her assertion that only "the people of Denmark . . . saved most of their Jewish citizens." One other country, Bulgaria, saved nearly every single one of its 50,000 Jewish citizens. The number of Jews in Bulgaria increased each year of the war. We must never forget.

Justin Yoo , a junior at Harvard-Westlake, won a silver medal in cadet and a bronze medal in Junior epee at the men's fencing World Championships last week in Bulgaria. He's the first U.S. fencer to win individual medals at both the Junior and Cadet World Championship. Kasia Nixon of Los Angeles won a bronze in cadet women's fencing. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back -- in Bulgaria. The action star and former governor of California, who championed filming in the state, is returning to Bulgaria to shoot the third installment in the "Expendables" franchise. Lionsgate and Millennium Films said principal photography on "The Expendables 3" began Monday in Bulgaria, where the second movie about an elite group of mercenaries was also filmed. The production will once again be based at Nu Boyana Studios in Sofia, taking advantage of Bulgaria's low-cost and non-union crews.

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met today with President Todor Zhivkov on his first official visit to Bulgaria, where economic and social problems recently have ruffled the usually smooth relations between the two countries. The meeting could be significant for this Balkan country of 9 million people. The Soviet Union is a dominating factor in Bulgaria's economy, importing more than half of the smaller country's exports.

As usual, your section delighted me, but this time Linda White's informative article, "A Different Kind of Rose Parade" (April 24), caught my attention. I have kept an eye on Bulgaria ever since first viewing "Casablanca"! Obviously times have changed since the wistful Bulgarian girl who appealed for help to cynical Rick, said, "Things are very bad there, M'sieu. The devil has the people by the throat." How lovely to read that "modern Bulgaria is layer upon layer of beauty" and that the American University has set up a center for teaching business and economics in the city of Blagoevgrad.

Fireworks and thousands of people dancing in the streets marked the entry of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union. Hopes for prosperity and stability were echoed in politicians' speeches and the chatter from residents as blue and yellow EU flags fluttered over Bucharest and Sofia. The accession of the two nations raises the EU's membership to 27, almost half of which are former communist states.

Grigor Dimitrov stunned Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday, beating the top-ranked Serb, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-3, for the biggest win of his career. The 28th-ranked Bulgarian saved three set points in the first before taking the lead, and Djokovic then appeared to hurt his right ankle while trailing 4-2 in the second. Djokovic, who ended Rafael Nadal's eight-year winning streak at the Monte Carlo Masters last month, said the loss had more to do with poor preparation than an injury.

Bulgarian officials ejected Hamas lawmakers from the country on Friday, saying they had reason to believe that the group of Palestinians threatened their nation's security. The Bulgarian State Agency for National Security said four Palestinians had entered the country Wednesday on a private invitation. While they were in Bulgaria, “information was received giving reason to believe that their presence poses a serious threat to national security,” the agency said in a statement Friday.

JERUSALEM - Bulgarian investigators said Tuesday that the Lebanese group Hezbollah was responsible for a July bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver in the Black Sea resort of Burgas, as Israel had asserted. The announcement was certain to heighten pressure on the European Union to join Israel and the United States in labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group, allowing law enforcement agents in Europe to seize assets, restrict travel and arrest members.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - As we sat on the Breeza, the open aft deck of the Azamara Quest, we watched the shadow line of the sunset climb the sheer, volcanic cliff above Skala, the tender landing area on the island of Santorini in the southern Aegean. It wasn't this iconic Greek island with dazzling white villas and churches that had lured my wife, Laurel, and me aboard this 10-night cruise from Istanbul to Athens. Rather, it was the chance to visit Black Sea ports in countries that were terrae incognitae to us, thus adding pages to our personal atlas.

LONDON - Before arriving at the moment the razor-edged circumstances of his life often conspired to keep him from, Ellis Coleman bounced on his toes and sent shudders through his arms to loosen them. To his left and near the top of Section 418, his family unfurled a banner: ELLIS COLEMAN. FLYING SQUIRREL. 2012 60kg OLYMPIAN. PRIDE OF THE HUSKIES. His brother, Lillashawn, wore a flag as a cape and white sunglasses with lenses shaped like stars. His mother, Yolanda, earlier had beamed about seeing Buckingham Palace.

JERUSALEM - An Israeli tour bus ferrying dozens of vacationers in the Bulgarian resort city of Burgas exploded Wednesday in an apparent terrorist attack, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 30. Most of the victims were Israelis, including many young people who were preparing to spend their summer break in the Black Sea coastal town, a leading vacation destination for Israelis. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Israeli and Bulgarian security officials suspected that a bomb was either hidden on the bus or in a piece of luggage.

JERUSALEM - As Israeli victims of the Bulgarian bus bombing arrived back home Thursday, security officials said they now believe the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber with a fake American passport. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who has blamed Lebanon-based Hezbollah and its Iranian backers for the bombing - called upon the international community to further isolate the Islamic Republic, which he called "the world's No. 1 state exporter of terrorism.

A small collection of human bones found under a Bulgarian church are the right age and ethnicity to support the claim that they belonged to John the Baptist, researchers said Friday. Radiocarbon dating indicates the bones came from the 1st century and mitochondrial DNA indicates they belonged to a person of Middle Eastern origin, the research team said. "Whether that person is John the Baptist is a question that we cannot yet definitely answer and probably never will," said archaeologist Thomas Higham of Oxford University, who conducted the radiocarbon dating.